Are the Dallas Cowboys a legitimate playoff threat?

After a dominating home win over arguably the best team in the NFC, are the Dallas Cowboys a legitimate playoff threat or are they peaking too soon?

Raise your hand if you believed the Dallas Cowboys would come out victorious over the New Orleans Saints. Those of you with your hands up, congratulations. You were the very small minority of the football world. For the rest of us, congratulations. You were pleasantly shocked and surprised.

Either way, the Dallas Cowboys earned their biggest win since the 2014 home playoff victory against Detroit. Regardless of how you thought this game would play out, no one saw the domination of the Dallas defense as the story.

The Cowboys held Saints quarterback Drew Brees to just 127 yards and his lowest passer rating (71.6) since December of 2016. The Saints rushing attack was held to its lowest yardage total since Week 2. Receiver Michael Thomas was held to his third-lowest yardage total in his career.

Possibly the most impressive fact, however, is that the Dallas Cowboys offense only produced 13 points and yet the game never felt threatened. It is a game like this that can really catapult a team to the next level. Owner Jerry Jones seems to agree as his post-game interview would imply (via Yahoo Sports).

"“This bunch, this team won’t be the same again. I’m serious. You win something like this against a team that well-coached, those kind of players, a caliber of team like that, and you know you’ve done it; the mirror knows you’ve done it. You change. This is a changer in here. These guys, they’re different cats now as they go forward.”"

This now begs the question: Are the Dallas Cowboys a legitimate playoff threat? Well, first, they have to get into the playoffs. All of a sudden, those prospects look awfully good.

Dallas has four games, two at home (vs. Philadelphia and Tampa Bay) and two on the road (at Indianapolis, at N.Y. Giants). They should win at least three of those four which would get them to 10-6.

Philadelphia has five games left, including three road games at Dallas, the L.A. Rams and Washington. Their two home games have them facing off with Washington and Houston. At 5-6, they would need to run the table just to get to ten wins.

Washington’s five remaining games appear to be easier but still are no cake walk. Road games against the Eagles, Jaguars and Titans along with home tilts versus Philadelphia and the G-men will all be tightly contested.

If, by some miracle, the Redskins get to ten wins as well, the tiebreakers could get super intricate. Dallas and Washington split their head-to-head matchups which means the divisional record is next. If Dallas beats the Eagles and Giants, Washington would need to sweep Philadelphia and win the Giants game to match.

The third tiebreaker for divisional purposes comes to down to record in common games. Washington lost to the Colts, Saints and Falcons but beat Carolina. Both Dallas and Washington lost to Houston. Dallas beat Jacksonville, New Orleans and Atlanta, but lost to Carolina. This makes those AFC games left in December between both teams almost as crucial as the divisional games.

All things certainly seem to be pointing in the right direction for the Dallas Cowboys. Upon making the playoffs, I believe this team could make a lot of noise. While they will likely be on the road beyond round one, this team is a better road team anyways so that actually works in their favor.

Having one of the three best running backs in all of football in Ezekiel Elliott is clutch as well. Then there is that defense. With DeMarcus Lawrence hunting quarterbacks, Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith shutting down the middle of the field and Byron Jones patrolling the back end, Dallas has stars at each level.

As we all know, when the weather is coldest, defense and a running game are necessary for success. The biggest concern for the Cowboys will be the play of quarterback Dan Prescott.

If the Cowboys can get just slightly above average play from Prescott, they could be a very tough out come January. If Prescott continues to look lost in the pocket, take big sacks or fumble the ball, however, he could be the Cowboys version of Blake Bortles.

I believe that Dallas is certainly a legitimate playoff threat but they will need the game’s most important position to come through when it counts. One thing is for certain, the future looks a lot brighter after Thursday’s destruction of the Saints.